Benoit doing Cajun music for the next generation

Lee Benoit is one proud Paw Paw. Benoit’s new grandson, Xander Cruz, is not even 2 years old. But Xander is already a star as he giggles, coos and calls for “Paw Paw” in a delightful Cajun French song that bears his name on Benoit’s new CD.

“We recorded him until he was about 1 and a half,” said Benoit. “I would just follow him around with a mic and pick up little baby sounds. It was some of the first times he said “Paw Paw.”

“He says all that a lot better now, but it’s kind of cool I got it at that time. I have a bunch of extra ones I didn’t use.

“I just put parts here and there. Now I have a whole library of him as a 1-year-old that I can save for when he gets older, so he can hear himself when he was a baby.”

Sharing the culture is the theme of Benoit’s first CD since 2005, “Pour Les Générations à Venir (For the Generations to Come),” recorded on his own label, Bradley Records. The 12-song disc contains all original, Cajun songs, including five written by Benoit and four from songwriter Maurice Lasserre of Baton Rouge. There’s also a remake of the hit ballad and tribute to his wife, “Valerie,” which now includes a final verse in English.

The songs have plenty of Cajun accordion and fiddle. But many are refreshingly peppered with mandolin, bongos, harmonica, tambourine and other elements not found on the typical Cajun CD.

“I’m normally not a writer but I just got some inspiration to do some new stuff,” said Benoit. “I’ve been noticing the younger Cajun kids. They’re not much up on the culture now.

“I just want to do my small part in passing something down. I know (this CD) is not traditional now, but it may be traditional in years to come.

“Everything goes around, just like bell bottoms. In 100 years, maybe they’ll be a smaller group but hopefully we’ll still have people into the culture and remembers it.”

Traditional and contemporary fans can feel the sentiment behind “Le Garsoleil (Sun Bonnet,)” written by Mary Brown. Benoit was raised by his grandmother and has fond memories on her wearing her sun bonnet when she worked in the yard.

“There’s a line in there that says she hung it on a nail on the back porch. As she went out the door, it was right there.

“I was really young, but I remember she found an old nail. But she needed to hang her garsoleil and the bag with the clothes pin. She couldn’t find a hammer, but she had big soles on her shoes. But I can remember she pulled of her shoes and banged that nail into the wall by the back door.

“Every time she’d go outside to work in her garden or hang clothes, she’d put that garsoleil on. I remember her starching and spraying it and making sure it was stiff.”

Benoit’s new CD also marks his 25 years as a Cajun musician, winner of numerous awards from the Cajun French Music Association. Benoit is a rarity among local artists, one who can play full time without touring out of state.

Benoit and band, which include his wife Valerie and daughter Maegen, play five nights a week at restaurants in Breaux Bridge, Baton Rouge and New Orleans. With his new CD, Benoit is enjoying his life in music.

“I’m not under contracts and I have my own studio at my house. I’m my own producer, so I can do whatever I want – exactly what I want. The graphics, everything on the CD, I did it. It’s all mine, front to back.”

Herman Fuselier is food and culture editor for the Times of Acadiana and Daily Advertiser. Contact him at hfuselier@theadvertiser.com.